Article
by Poetic Folly
Summary: It all started with a school newspaper, and an article no one seemed to know wrote. Well, except one person, that is... Now Roxas's only problem: Finding out for himself. RoxasXOC
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Rox-OC. A mysterious article in the school newspaper gets the attention of quite a few people; but no-one seems to know who actually wrote it! Every week since that first article, mysterious new articles have been showing up. Can Roxas and the gang figure out who the mystery journalist is?

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"_**ROXAS HARADA: A LOOK AT HIS GIRLFRIENDS**_

_Roxas Harada is widely known as being the second part in the school's only pair of twins in over 100 years; his younger brother being Sora Harada. Roxas is known as being the more intelligent and intellectual of the two, but don't start thinking that makes him a wimp! He has broken all swimming records, and he's nothing to sneer at in speed or strength either._

_But this article isn't directly about Roxas. Rather, it's about his girlfriends._

_To date, Roxas Harada's girlfriends have been somewhat of a mystery. His girlfriends have had absolutely nothing in common--until now._

_Yes folks, I am here to reveal just what pattern Roxas Harada has created for his girlfriends!_

_To date, he has gone out with popular and non-popular kids alike._

_NAMINE MISIOUTU: Artist._

_KAIRI MISIOUTU: Shopping extraordinaire. _

_OLETTE PENTIK: Academics._

_SELPHIE TESTLY: Cheerleader._

_And the list goes on! But all these people **have** had one thing in common:_

_**THEY ALL EXCEL IN ONE AREA.** And one area only._

_But why is it he steers clear from anyone multi-talented? Insecurities? Superiority Complex? … Ego-check lately, anyone?_

_And so, I propose a challenge. To Roxas, as well as everyone else._

_Roxas, you're known for having a good eye, aren't you? Let's see you pull this one off._

_**If, by the end of the '06-'07 school year, you have successfully stayed put with girls excelling only in area, all multi-talented persons are to submit a full profile--given by me--to Roxas.**_

**_If, HOWEVER, a girl manages to become your girlfriend who IS_ _multi-talented, you are to stay with said girl for one full year. Whatever date to the same one, same TIME, next year. (Down to the minute--I won't make you do down the very second.)_**

_I wish you luck, Roxas Harada. You'll be needing it._

_Very. Very. Soon."_

Whispers followed Roxas and his usual gang as he entered the school building, heading to their lockers. Now, this was not so unusual--except everyone seemed to be holding a newspaper in their hand, and were frequently looking from it to him.

Finally, growing annoyed, he turned and looked at his brother Sora. "Do I have something on me? And what's with all the newspapers?" Sora gave him a quick look-over, and shook his head, shrugging as he did so. "I'd have to say I dunno, bro. You look the same as always. And they decided that enough Journalists wanted to sign up this year for a school newspaper, remember?" Roxas frowned, but nodded. _'So that's what it is. The school newspaper.'_

He glanced up as they passed a new-looking doorway, and stopped. Looking at the side, he saw it held a tray--attached to the wall--with copies of the newspaper in it. He reached over and swiped one, quickly looking at it. He blinked, staring at the place his name was. "Wow, dude! Bolded, Italics, and Underlined too!" Axel exclaimed, looking over his shoulder. He merely grinned when Roxas yanked away from him, glaring huffily. "Hmph. Of course it is. Anything having to do with me or Sora is important. Look, he's mentioned too." He pointed at the area with Sora's name--which, of course, caused the brunette to jump up and down excitedly, squealing about how he'd gotten his name in a newspaper, before hugging Riku--his boyfriend of seven months. Riku rolled his eyes, but smiled. Whenever Sora was happy, Riku was happy--well, except when he was jealous of Sora when he was having fun with other people, of course.

"Yes, but the article is about you." Cloud pointed out--being the perfectionist he was, details had to be correct. Roxas peered at the print, before shaking his head. "Not really. It's actually about my…girlfriends." At this the group looked at each other, before all grabbing a copy of the newspaper.

"Hmm. You will, of course, accept the challenge?" Leon looked up at him expectantly, arching an eyebrow. He seemed satisfied when Roxas smiled, nodding. "But of course. Why shouldn't I? This will be easy."

"I dunno man; usually you stick with girls in our own grade, but… you've pretty much used up _that_ supply. You'll have to start circulating the grades. Lucky you skipped a grade; it'll make it easier. Of course, some of he girls might faint at having you ask them out." Axel grinned when Roxas rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Is it my fault all the girls are boring? They're all alike. Ask them for a date, and they get all excited. I for one don't understand it." He shrugged as he neatly slid the newspaper inside his backpack. "It's because you're good-looking, rich, and very, very popular." Cloud said quietly, copying Roxas by putting his own copy inside his backpack. Cloud and Roxas very easily could have been brothers; they both had the same blond hair and blue eyes, pale skin, and were identical in many ways personality-wise.

"I suppose." Roxas merely shrugged again, heading for his homeroom, before stopping suddenly and looking at the gang. "Er… Who wrote the article, by the way? I think I skipped over the name. I was speed-reading." Sora, who still had his newspaper out, looked at it. "Ummm… Sorry Roxas. No name. Not even a grade."

"So, someone had access to the printer, and slipped article in. The other Journalists would probably know. We can ask during lunch." Riku added, smiling. "This'll be easy!" Sora laughed, grinning at his brother. Roxas arched an eyebrow, before looking at the article. "And why do I have the feeling that just jinxed it?" He asked quietly, although there was genuine curiosity in his tone.


	2. Chapter 2

Articles, chap 2

During the lunch period the group headed towards the Journalist table -- strange how everyone had specific places, but then… that's what happened, Roxas supposed. That's just what happened when you went to a school. There were places you liked, and others you didn't… of course, not all had a choice either….

"Aerith." Cloud greeted, nodding, at the same moment Sora grinned and waved as he said (quite loudly…), "Hi Nammie!" Sora giggled as his boyfriend stared at him, then grinned broadly at the blonde Artist. He had friends in all circles… made things easy when the group needed something.

"Cloud, Sora--Roxas, everyone. Can we help you?" Aerith asked softly as she stood, eyes on Cloud--since he was the one that spoke first, of course. "Yes, actually. You can." Well then; it was a blonde that spoke--just not the one she was looking at. She looked to Roxas and smiled again, although she looked somewhat surprised. She waited patiently.

He did hate to disappoint, after all. "The paper. The front page. I'd like to know who wrote it." He said. Aerith was surprised by his bluntness; generally he preferred to dance around the subject, finding amusement in the way you tried to figure out what on earth he was trying to tell you. She looked puzzled, turning to look at the table. "Why would you be interested in the paper?"

Aerith frowned, taking up their edition. Her eyes widened, before she turned to Tifa. "Well, at least now I know what you were talking about. Sorry boys. Only one who knows who wrote THIS is Tifa; she's in charge of the layout of things."

Tifa grinned, looking at Roxas. "Why, Roxas! I didn't know you cared about what was being written about you! Sorry boy. It'll take some serious bribing if you wanna know." After all… Why should she tell anything worthwhile?

"Court time for a week." Cloud promptly offered, watching as Tifa slowly turned to him, eyes open, mouth gaping. "Court time for a _week_?! You can do that?" Tifa stammered. When Cloud simply nodded, she opened her mouth to shout yes, before she hesitated. "Well… I mean, this person has a lot of trust in me… I wouldn't want to--" She was cut off as Roxas spoke up. "Court time for a week, and an extra free class to your schedule."

Opening and closing her mouth, she stared at the two blondes, before suddenly grinning. "Fine. But no names. And the conditions go into effect immediately." "Done." Roxas smiled, taking out a notebook. "Now then. Let's begin, shall we?" He sat at the table, taking out a pen as well, before looking at Tifa.

"Gender?" "Female."

"Hair?" "Brown."

"Eyes?" "Ditto."

"Height?" "Uhm…I think maybe around 5'5, 5'7... I don't really know. I think she might be a bit shorter then me."

"Initials?" "Sorry Roxas. No-can-do. Too easy to match up."

"So. A brown-eyed brunette with an average height. That narrows it down some." He summarized, looking down at his notes, and adding something. "And she has a huge sweet tooth." Tifa added, grinning. "Not even Sora's can add up to it." Here everyone stared at her, then the little brunette, before looking back to Tifa again. "Woah. Is she like him, or just obese?" Axel finally spoke, smirking at the annoyed look on Tifa's face. "Neither." She retorted, glaring at the redhead. "I said she has a huge sweet tooth. Doesn't mean she actually EATS the stuff. Wishes she could, but she tries to hold back, because she wants to be more healthy. But she caves pretty fast." The busty brunette added, grinning.

Aerith had been watching the group, and her eyes flew to Leon, seeing him jerk slightly as he looked at Tifa sharply. "Leon? Do you know something?"

Leon looked at her, then Tifa, before finally speaking. "If it is who I think it is, she's got more nerve then I thought."

Tifa looked at him, blinking. "Wait a minute. Does she really like swords--" "--And knives--" "--and magic--" "--and books." Tifa and Leon listened to each other, realizing how they sounded, before they both nodded.

"My my my. Is that a smile I see?" Yuffie quipped, grinning at Leon, who indeed was sporting the tiniest of smiles. "She has got to be kidding. I can't believe she'd do something like that…" Leon muttered, shaking his head. He looked at the group, and considered them, frowning. "Riku might know her, but I don't think he actually KNOWS her. Sora has certainly seen her a lot, but I don't think they're friends."

"She certainly doesn't know the others--or, correction, they don't know her." Tifa added, beaming at Leon. She'd never heard him say so much!

"She's crazy if she thinks she can pull this off." Leon grumbled. Tifa giggled. "Ah, so you fell too eh? She seems to be like Sora. No matter how much you hate her, you just can't help but love her." She commented, grinning. "Although she's practically the opposite of him personality-wise." She added doubtfully, eyeing the small brunette.

Leon eyed Sora, before frowning thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have said so." He contradicted. Tifa blinked. "Are you kidding? He's loud, she's quiet; he gorges himself, she tries to limit herself; she likes violence, he doesn't--video games not counting here; she's shy, he's not. Should I continue? I mean really, they're total opposites!" She exclaimed, looking at Leon in puzzlement.

Leon shook his head. "She is not. She hates violence. She eats all the time. She isn't shy at all. And she can be as anyone." He contradicted calmly, frowning faintly. "She's just like Sora. Loud. Outgoing. Prone to laughter. Oblivious and dense." His last bit had the group laughing, although Sora cried, "Hey!" in his own defense.

…Pathetic.

Tifa blinked slowly, imitating the person they were talking about. "You don't know her very well." "I know her better then you think." Leon countered, practically growling.

Tifa smiled smugly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well then. I've known her for two years. What about you?"

There was silence before Leon finally met her gaze, calmly replying, "At least four times that, if not longer."

Yuffie was now loudly laughing--once she figured it out--although everyone else was staring blankly at him. He looked at them slowly, looking irritated. He looked at Cloud, silently demanding to tell him why he was suddenly being stared at.

"Uh… Leon…. We didn't know you were friends with ANYONE that long." The blonde finally explained, grinning as he saw the brunette twitch. "I'm not _that_ anti-social…" Leon grumbled, looking utterly surprised when everyone immediately chimed, "Yes you are." The look on his face had the majority laughing.

"…Maybe we aren't talking about the same person." Tifa finally said, frowning doubtfully. Leon shook his head, looking at Riku quietly. "Riku. How dense and oblivious is Sora… really?" He suddenly stood, heading out of the cafeteria. The bell rang, and there was suddenly a mad scramble to get out of there.

Riku watched him go, before looking down at his boyfriend, a look of understanding dawning. "I get it…. Right. My house, after school." He told the others as they moved out to the hallway, briefly kissing his boyfriend before heading to his class, not bothering to check if anyone couldn't make it. They all knew they only had homework, anyway.

**Authors Note:**

**Hey! Sorry if you at all got confused, or if Leon seemed OOC, lol. The point I'm trying to make is that he really is comfortable around this girl, or talking about her. You know Leon/Squall. He loosens up on subjects he knows a lot about… just not much. So he's still OOC, which is always too too fun.**

**Also, Court Time is something I'm coming up with here--this isn't a no-magic fic; it's got stuff in it. And Tifa uses martial arts; Court Time is the time you get during a certain time during only special classes, and only if you qualify for it. It's a highly specialized gym that's part indoors, part outdoors; used mainly by fighters. Magic-uses almost never use it, since they've got something else for that. It's unpredictable in what it will throw at you. And usually, you only get it as an award for something VERY well done, and only for a day, max. So having a whole week is like, "WOAH!"--something the majority of the fighters work really hard to get time for.**


	3. Chapter 3

P'olly: Right... well, sorry it took me so long to update ANYTHING. I wasn't really feeling too inspired with this fic, but then I got a review from an AWESOME person called NightRayne92 (I do hope I spelled that correctly...), and I suddenly wanted really badly to update this fic. ; Just to clear up something—Normally, I don't go for OC fics, because I generally prefer to pair them up within their own—game, manga, whatever it is. But I figured, for this...well, why not? An yes, things will probably move pretty fast in my story, because I've little patience for going slowly. :shrugs: Sorry if you've a problem with that, but you've been warned.

So, on to the story!

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_"Oh come on Squall! It wasn't your fault—you don't have to change your name!" Insisted the girl, looking up at Leon with concern, a hand on his arm to keep him from turning away. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and quietly said, "It is my fault. I have to. I don't want to--" "I know, I know—you KNOW I know! But Squall, please! Stop blaming yourself! I do it all the time, and you've seen what it's done to me! You don't want to become that too, trust me; it won't be doing anyone any good!" Leon was silent before asking harshly, "Which are you saying, that I'm too self-involved or that I don't want to become you?" The girl blinked, before saying, confused, "What are you talking about? I never said once you were self involved, or insinuated it, but yes, I am saying you don't want to become ANYTHING of what I've become—I've lived with it for this long, and I still wonder why I'm not already dead! Squall, please!"_

_"Please! Don't keep doing this to yourse—-no, wait—-Squall!!!"_

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Everyone settled down into their own little corners, getting comfortable before looking up at Riku expectantly. It had once been their habit to take turns meeting at each others houses once a week, before their schedules got too busy and they had shortened it to meeting all in one place (the house of the person who called them together) when someone had something to say, add, debate, whatever.

Riku, however, was not known for asking them to his house, ditto Leon. Leon, because he was a freak for privacy; Riku, because he usually had nothing to say that didn't somehow pertain to Sora. So it was unusual he would call them together, thus instantly taking the attention of the entire group.

Riku looked around, nodding once he saw everyone was settled. "Right. Now, before we all left for class at the end of lunch, Leon asked me how oblivious and dense Sora really is—or rather, he stated it as a question, but didn't mean it as one. Sora, as you all know, isn't very dense or anything at all unless, like Roxas, you purposefully beat around the bush." He looked to Leon, who had simply been listening. When Leon gave him the smallest of nods, Riku smiled faintly—it wasn't often Leon had approval for something you did.

"I'm going to be thinking out loud here—I've been turning that over since he said it. But my guess is, from what you said, that you wanted me to think of Sora's personality, " here he ignored the mock-groans from almost everyone, " So that's what I did. And what I figure is, if Sora has more sides to him then most know about, then why not this girl?" His eyes went back to Leon as the male began to slowly speak.

"Correct. This girl has many sides to her. Makes her difficult to pinpoint unless you know her." He looked at Riku with an eyebrow arched, waiting to see if he had been thinking further. Riku nodded to show he understood, and began again. "Yes, I started thinking of the girls I know—which wasn't easy, mind you—and narrowed it down to a handful. But since he said I might know her but not actually know her, it makes it a little harder. So, I might not have gotten the right person in the bunch." He shrugged, but, what could he do?

Roxas finally spoke, glaring at Leon. "Why can't you just tell me who it is? It'd make this a lot easier, you know." Leon frowned, before saying quietly, "I worked a long time to get her trust. I'm not about to betray it." Roxas sighed, muttering an apology as he shook his head. "Sorry Leon. I didn't realize you...sorry." He wisely didn't finish his sentence. He looked down at the notebook in his hands, and sighed. "I went through the student records, and found a lot of girls that fit the description, at least somewhat. Brown hair and eyes are the most common; I don't even have exact shades of brown to work for." he scowled, before looking somewhat hopefully at Leon. "I was thinking, maybe, you could just—go through the list, and cross out any girls that that nothing to do with the description or anything?" Leon was silent, watching him through narrowed eyes, before holding out his hand. Gratefully, Roxas put the notebook and pen into the hand, before settling back, looking satisfied with himself.

For a few moments thee was silence, as Leon went down the list, occasionally crossing out names, occasionally circling one, before handing the list. "Crossed out ones are definite no-go's. Circled ones are bigger possibles, normal ones are ones you might want to check to confirm." Roxas paused, eyes flitting from the list to Leon, before saying, eyes narrowed, "You want me to go through this list by way of dates, don't you?" When Leon simply cocked an eyebrow, Roxas scowled, throwing himself back into his chair, glaring at him.

"What? How could you know that? He never said that!" Sora asked, eyes wide as he looked back and forth between them. Riku chuckled, shaking his head. "Because your brother is too smart for his own good, that's how." Sora blinked, before laughing, settling on his boyfriends lap.

Roxas looked at the list, and sighed. "Joy. This is not going to be fun... Wait, who's Kaito? Isn't that a guy's name?" He asked, puzzled, as he looked at Leon. In turn, Leon pointedly looked at Sora. As one, everyone but Leon and Sora started laughing, Sora crying "Hey! It isn't funny!" once he caught on, only causing everyone to laugh harder. The laughter died slowly, however, when Sora said instead, "Riku! Roxas! Make them stop laughing at me!"

Riku rolled his eyes affectionately and grinned at Sora. "Aw, come on Sora; we aren't laughing AT you. We're laughing WITH you!" Sora stared at him, before saying confusedly, "But... I'm not laughing..." Causing everyone to at least grin at him.

Then something dawned on him, and Sora turned to Roxas, explaining, "Kaito's a girl in a couple of my classes. Apparently, her dad was convinced they'd get another boy, instead of a girl—despite the fact that her mom had yet to be wrong about whether a baby was female or male before it was born, and kept insisting it was a girl this time. They named her Kaito anyway." he shrugged, adding, "She's really sweet, even though she can come off as rough and cold at first. Really nice if you just keep pestering her." He grinned at this point, startling what sounded suspiciously like a (strangled) laugh out of Leon's throat. As everyone's head swung toward him, shocked and amazed, he scowled. "It sounds like something he'd do." He defended himself, causing everyone to A: continue staring at him, and B: start grinning at the Big Bad Leon defending himself for a little laugh.

Roxas looked at Sora thoughtfully, asking, "What's this Kaito do? Her specialty?" Sora thought for a moment, before shrugging , looking puzzled. "Actually, I don't know. She does pretty good in school, but from what she's said, that's because she has no social life and works really hard at it because she doesn't like failing to do something. So I don't think she's naturally smart or anything, although she seems it to me. Although she always does seem to know what I'm thinking and about to say before even I do." He scowled here, obviously annoyed at that fact. As everyone was concentrating on Sora, no one saw how Leon stiffened as the boy spoke, eyes widening just a fraction.

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Authors Note: For everyone who doesn't know, Sora is a female name meaning "sky". Kaito is a male name of which I haven't the EXACT definition, but I can guess—the parts of the name kai (sea, ocean) and to can refer to the constellation Ursa Major, or a different to means soar, fly. So it speaks of both the sky and the ocean. Or the stars, lol. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: ...:Cough: Okay, so I take bloody forever to update. See, THIS is why I don't do chapter fics...:Sighs: Anywho, I'd like to make a correction: It's RyaneNight92, not NightRyane92. So sorry!!!! And to think I'm known for my spelling...ugh. And yes, most of the characters are very OOC... I haven't finished... uhm, any, of these games. Well, FF7 and FF8 I've pretty much finished, and I'm almost done with KH2... but nevertheless, I've forgotten most of their characters; properly, that is. As they should be. :Laughs sheepishly: And thank you again, RyaneNight92. The name Kaito apparently means Kite, which I also like... though not so much... heh. Depending on the spelling, i can mean something else, too, apparently. How... unsurprising. **

**I run on reviews; the more reviews, the faster (and probably better...) the updates:D Heeheehee.**

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"Repeat that." Everyone turned, surprised, at Leon's harsh voice. Sora, confused, repeated, "Although she always does seem to know what I'm thinking and about to say before even I do?"

Leon leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as he watched Sora. Sora, not completely used to being on the receiving ends of Leon's _'looks'_, 'meeped' and promptly hid behind Riku, who glared at Leon. "_Now_ what's your problem?!" Riku asked angrily. He did not like people glaring at his Sora; not in the least bit, as Leon _knew_!

Leon shifted his gaze to Riku, arching an eyebrow, suddenly relaxing. "She..." He paused, unsure of how to continue. "You wouldn't understand." He finally finished, frowning faintly. Now Cloud joined in, looking puzzled. "Leon, what are you talking about? You know us of all people could probably understand it." He said quietly, coaxingly. Axel completely ruined the affect by loudly exclaiming, "Yeah! Come on, were all freaks here! We could understand it!" He grinned brightly at the annoyed brunet, who finally gave a half-nod.

"But not now." Was all he said, shaking his head and reclining into the chair. Despite everyone's exclamations, he stubbornly refused to continue. Finally Cloud cut them all off, saying firmly that they all knew he was good for his word, and if he didn't want to tell them now, then he had a good reason. With much grumbling, they all agreed reluctantly.

The next day at school was an interesting one. Everyone knew of the bet, even if they didn't read the school newspaper, and more girls then usual were looking at Roxas and flirting... And Roxas didn't like flirting unless he was in the mood for it. At lunch he finally sat down after slamming his bag down on his seat, and growling, "You'd think that they'd be a little less excited about this! It's just a bet!"

"Yes, but everyone knows you don't like keeping a girlfriend for a long time." Pointed out Riku, shrugging. Roxas groaned, and dragged out his list of girls, asked Leon, "So, where do I start?"

Leon arched an eyebrow, saying calmly, "At the beginning." Roxas looked at the paper, and the paper attached, and groaned, cradling his head in his hands. "Dammit."

The next two weeks were hell. He went down the list, after carefully studying a girl and gathering information, slowly, dismissing them easily. They all tried to pretend they were multi talented – and failed horribly. "Honestly, you'd think if a girl was great with plants that she wouldn't try and pretend she was a good singer! Ugh, I think I actually felt my ears bleed a little!" Sora, eyes wide, quickly leaned over, peering inside Roxas's ear, before grinning and sitting back, looking relieved. "Nope, your ears are blood-free!" He exclaimed happily, beaming as he dug into his lunch. Roxas looked at his twin with an odd look of disbelief, while the rest of the table cracked up laughing. Cloud finally paused, looking around, before commenting, "Anyone seen Leon today? He has my science class, and I need some help with my homework."

For indeed, the great Leon was missing form their table. They always ate together; it was one of their rules of the group... so where was he?

Tifa, passing the table on her way to her own, giggled at Sora's remark. "Maybe you should check the Organization's table." She supplied, smiling secretively before continuing on. Everyone looked at each other, frowning, confused. Leon? At the Organization's table?

The Organization was a group of people who always wore these black cloaks over whatever they wore. They were all very clear on their dislikes, which generally included people who showed a great deal of emotion – people such as Sora, for example. Which he thought, privately, made no sense, since there was a kid named Demyx in their group who got along great with Sora... he sometimes wondered if they even knew why they were such a group.

Roxas and Axel looked at each other, eyes wide. Both had been a part of the Organization once, but had left. Roxas, because Sora pleaded with him, and Axel, because Roxas left.

Striding over to the table, Roxas and Axel saw Leon conversing with the Organization. Apparently he was a 'neutral', as they were being civil, and no apparent threat or hostility was present. Or at least, visible. Demyx looked up, and grinned immediately, crying happily, "Hey look, it's Roxas and Axel!!! How've you been? What brings you to our side of the cafeteria?" Axel, smiling easily, answered, "To see what brings Leon over here." When Demyx immediately started whining that it wasn't fair he went to check up on his new friend and couldn't be bothered to come and see _old_ friends, one of the other members – Marluxia, a guy with pink hair who liked flowers waaaaaay too much – leaned over to distract him with some comment on Demyx's music class.

Leon finished quietly before standing, shaking his head when he saw Roxas's silent question.

Why had he been talking to Zexion, of all people? Zexion was a brainiac, sure, and he excelled in whatever he promised to do, but it was rare that someone actually got him to promise something. Generally it was only Demyx he actually talked with... unless he was in a science class, of course. Or about science in general.

Roxas headed back to his table, leaving Axel talking merrily with the Organization. Sitting beside his brother, he asked directly, "So, any chance of you introducing me to this Kaito? I want to see what could capture the great Leon's interest and friendship." Sora, tilted his head slightly, considering it, before answering slowly, "Don't see why not. But you'll have to go immediately to my last class of the day after school; she takes extra time to clean up in art for some of the other students – they're all slobs, except Namine--, but not all that much. She likes to leave as soon as possible. I can probably hold her a couple of minutes, though, for you." He finished brightly, grinning. When Roxas nodded his thanks, he looked up at the sight of Leon.

"You're going to ask Kaito out?" Leon asked directly, frowning slightly and crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah. She sounds the most interesting, and besides, I might as well." Replied the blond with a small shrug of his shoulders. Leon's lips twitched before he stilled them. All he said was, "Good luck on that. You'll need it." Roxas looked up, eyes wide at the thought of someone turning him down. That was like – that was like someone denying Riku, or Cloud, or Leon a date! It just didn't happen! Well, considering Leon didn't date they were all assuming no one would turn him down. He had the looks after all, and if he actually wanted someone, they were all completely certain he'd never be turned down.

"Why? She like girls?" Axel asked, randomly popping up behind Leon. Sora gave a yelp of surprise, pointing accusingly at Axel. "RIKU! TELL HIM HE'S FREAKY FOR DOING THAT! TELL HIM AND HIS CRAZY NINJA-ING SKILLS!"

Axel grinned at the brunet, teasingly saying, "Sora, Riku isn't going to do anything. He likes it when you cling to him." He smirked at Riku gave him a dirty look, at the same moment when Sora retorted, saying it like it was the most obvious thing, "Axel. I do not _cling_." At the way he said it, so high-and-mighty, everyone grinned. Sora looked down to discovered not only was he clinging to his boyfriend, but he'd also jumped into his lap. Now how had that happened...? At the look on the boy's face, everyone started laughing again save Leon. Riku, never one to pass something like this up, took the chance to begin kissing Sora, causing the boy to squeak and turn a bright red, trying to get away. He would've succeeded, too, if Riku's arms weren't around his waist.

"NINJAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Came the completely random scream from somewhere in the cafeteria. Everyone looked up to see a girl named Yuffie (crazy ninja obsessed girl...) standing on her seat, waving her arms in the air and doing a 'ninja-dance'.

Silence reigned, before almost the entire cafeteria started laughing at Yuffie's crazy antics.

Once things had settled down, and Leon had sat, he shook his head slightly. "Worse, for you. She's asexual."

Once Roxas decided on a girl, nothing could pull him away until he'd dated her.

Shit. Things just got a lot more complicated.

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**Author's Note: Yes, I realize asexual means that they can reproduce on their own. I've studied biology, sheesh. However, if you look it up ( dictionary . com is such a nice thing, don't you think?) you'll see it also means lacking interest or desire in sex. Which could also mean that they don't go for attraction, or don't get attracted, or anything like that. Also, please note that if in any way bash during this fic, I have nothing against that character... Like Yuffie, for example. Or poor Sora...XD Ha. But this isn't a hugely serious fic; if it was, the quality of the story would be majorly better. As it is, I just want to finish the darned thing... just to say I did, lol.  
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	5. Chapter 5

Humming broke the silence of the classroom, accompanied by the occasional sound of something being picked up or put away. A cellphone ringing interrupted the hummer, and they quietly answered, "Sora. Is this important? I'm cleaning up the art room." In return for being allowed the use of the pain in the classroom, along with the canvas, she stayed behind in the classroom every day after school to clean up the room for the teacher.

"Sorry 'bout that! Hey Kaito, meet me by the fountain; there're some people that wanna meetcha!" There was silence, before a soft sigh, and the phone closed. Sora grinned at his friends. "She'll be here soon!" He promised. Roxas stared at him quizzically. "But Sora... she didn't say anything." Sora shrugged. "Yeah yeah, but trust me. She'll be here." He merely shrugged and smiled when Axel tried to pester the answers out of him.

Kaito watched the group, stopping a bit away when she saw Leon, who looked nervous, to her trained eye. "Hello Leon." She greeted softly, dipping her head slightly as she moved towards where the group was headed. Roxas turned, after hearing Sora say loudly, "Hi Kai! How do you know Leon?"

Roxas studied her while his brother began babbling, not allowing time for an answer. Long brown hair that curled easily, but not in those annoyingly bouncy springs some people called curls. It was held back in a simple low ponytail, although some bangs had escaped, waving in the wind. Pale skin with a light flush to it that made you think she ran to get here, her eyes were quiet but held a definite sparkle to them. Chocolate brown, Roxas dimly recalled hearing Tifa's voice. Her eyes were large but not ridiculously so, framed by unusually long, dark lashes. Her face had freckles spread over it, but not heavily; they looked like ones you'd get form sun exposure, mostly. She had a bump in her nose that automatically made Roxas think of her having broken her nose before, and full lips that looked like they could smile, and in the next instant frown; moody, Roxas thought, somewhat unhappily. It was impossible to tell the girl's figure or body frame with those baggy clothes, but at least she wasn't really tall or really short.

He was brought out of studying here when Sora suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, yeah! Sorry! This is Axel, an' this is Leon, an' Riku, an' Cloud, an' my brother Roxas!" Sora beamed at the girl, who had followed his introductions with a bit of puzzlement. "Sora. I was in the middle of art—did you call me out merely to meet your group?" She asked, a bit annoyed. Sora paused, before pouting. "Aw, but Kaito!! You promised! Did you already forget?" Kaito blinked, before taking out her cellphone and flipping to something. She looked up sheepishly a moment later. "Sorry, Sora. Thing's've been hectic of late. Don't tell me you're expecting me to treat everyone?" She arched an eyebrow, frowning and sighing when Sora just shone those big blue eyes on her.

"You should learn to bottle and sell that look. You'd make millions." She muttered, shaking her head and turning. Leon, oddly, was the first to follow her. He sped up so it was them ahead of everyone else, and looked down at her, frowning. "You don't seem yourself." He observed. Kaito looked up, smiling tiredly. "I'm just tired. I got a job recently, and juggling the job, school, homework, drama, music, and everything else..." She shrugged. "I haven't had such a hectic schedule since I was a kid." She sighed, and tried to run a hand through her hair, before making a face when she realized her hair was in a ponytail. "Those kids can really pack it away. You should set a limit." Leon advised. Kaito smiled gently. "Mm. Well, I got the job to get money. I'm just going to get scholarships, so..." She shrugged. "Still undecided?" Leon asked. Kaito frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah... but it's been narrowed down." When she didn't continue, Leon merely fell back into his usual silence, frowning at her, before looking up to watch where he was walking.

When they reached the mall, Sora cheered, and ran ahead inside, half of the gang following him and the other half keeping their own pace to walk behind them. Kaito shook her head and chuckled, quickening her pace a bit – which, considering she was already walking quickly, made it very brisk indeed. When she arrived at the food court, she glanced around, before laughing aloud when she saw Sora, Riku, and Axel already in line at their favorite place. Grinning, she made her way to them, before giving Sora a _look _when she heard him encourage the others, "Come on; order as much as you want! Kaito doesn't mind!"

"Oh I don't, do I? Just for that I should cut you out. I know what a pig you can be." She said, scowling at him. But she shook her head, smiling when she ordered. Without thinking, she ordered for Leon as well. "I _can_ order my own food." Leon reminded her, frowning. Without looking, she paid for the entire group, asking mildly, "You can? Aww, mama's little boy has grown up! How sweet. But don't worry LeLo, mama's still here." Her voice had entered into a sweet cooing, and she reached up to pat his arm.

The absolute deadpan way she said it, along with the look Leon gave her, had even the cashier grinning and trying not to laugh. In a very childish way of revenge, he subtlety tripped her, watching in amusement as she began to stumble. But when she fell, and didn't drop her food, everyone stared at her – she was staring at her tray, before looking up at the group, looking confused. "I...have absolutely _no_ idea how I did that. What was that for, Lo?" She asked, glowering at Leon rather impressively. He reached down and took her hand, yanking her up. She stumbled, only just managing to balance her tray, and returned to glaring at him. "That was for calling me LeLo. And don't call me Lo either."

The group stared at them, momentarily forgetting their trays of food. "Since when does Leon act almost normal?" Axel leaned to ask Riku, who could only shake his head. "Leon acts like he has a crush on Kai-Kai!" Sora suddenly quipped, giggling madly.

When Kaito and Leon both started and turned to stare at him incredulously, the whole group collapsed into laughter. Leon looked mildly horrified, and Kaito merely looked amused and...somewhat sick. "Sora. It'd be the same as me liking my sister." Leon finally said, looking a bit green himself. Axel arched an eyebrow. "Gee, LeLo. I had no idea you were into incest!" Sora started giggling again, and the rest of the group was either trying not to laugh, or out-right snickering.

Kaito blinked. "And this is why I don't hang out with you. I try to allow you to preserve what's left of your dignity... well...after I tear it to shreds of course." She added as an afterthought modestly, heading to a table and sitting down.

Roxas threw an annoyed look to Leon that was filled with curiosity, and hurried to sit across her. Leon sat beside her, and Sora dragged over another table so they could all sit together at one table. Kaito looked up when Roxas asked pleasantly, "So, how do you know Leon?" The girl glanced at Leon, who was watching Roxas with an odd expression. She shrugged, taking a sip of her water bottle. "Oh, you know; typical story. Boy and girl end up hanging out after the knight in shining play clothes saves the damsel in distress. You know. That one." Sora looked confused, and looked up at Riku, who looked as though i was no clearer to him, but he caught the meaning. "Leon? In play clothes?" Axel quipped, grinning deviously. Leon closed his eyes, before shooting a dark look to Kaito, who smiled blandly. "Yeah... but he was so _cute_!" She cooed, obviously doing an impression of Selphie. "We met when we were kids. Let's see...you were about nine I think, Lo, which means I was about seven I think..." Leon nodded, not even noticing that she'd called him Lo. "And you're as annoying as you were back then. In fact, you're more annoying. Now you aren't nearly as shy."

"Hey! I'm still shy! I just know how to deal with it!" She laughed when Leon grabbed her water bottle threateningly, raising it. "Oh, you wouldn't do that here--!!!" She was interrupted when Leon did in fact turn the bottle upside down on her, drenching her. She gasped at the sudden coldness, and could only sit, dumbfounded. Then her look steadily darkened, and she raised deadly eyes to the older teenager, who immediately stood and took a step back. "Shit." "Yes. That sums it up." Kaito agreed calmly, before lunging out of her chair to 'attack' the brunet. Said boy hurriedly began sprinting through the mall.

Kaito could only imagine how they looked – Leon running away from her, her running and skidding occasionally, soaked, her waving her fist in that air and threatening him in a mock angry voice.

When they finally made it back to the table, Kaito was gasping, but laughing so hard Leon was afraid for a moment. She had enough trouble breathing as it was. She collapsed in her chair, giggling madly. She opened her eyes to see the group staring at her, looking dumbfounded. "The employees are used to us doing that. He does something or other, I act pissed, and we run around the mall once before ending up back where we started. Haven't done it for months now; haven't had the time." She sounded breathless, but was grinning wildly, a slightly feral gleam in her eye. She leaned forwards, and began drumming her fingers restlessly on the table as she took a bite of her slightly cool pizza. They really hadn't been gone long.

"So...why do you do that?" Roxas finally asked, breaking the odd silence. Leon looked oddly peaceful, and Roxas couldn't help but wonder... _Does Leon have a crush on this girl? But why was he so insisting I try and date her? Or rather, he...god dammit, he tricked me! He made sure I'd be interested by telling me she would never go for me...damn it!_

She shrugged slightly; her fingers had ceased their drumming. She looked up accusingly to the brunet, who merely arched an eyebrow. "You didn't show up at the library last week, by the way. When Gima found out I was there alone for all those hours, she nearly freaked. She said I should hit you. I think I should too." She glared at him reproachfully, before diving into the rest of her pizza, eating hungrily but politely.

The group stared at her, save Leon, who looked like he might actually have the faintest of blushes. When the silence continued, she looked up, eyes darting from person to person. She swallowed her bite, and looked at Roxas, eyebrow arched. "Gima. My grandma. So, Roxas. Read about the little bet. How's that goin' for you?" The attempt in changing conversation worked well. Instantly, Roxas's forehead was introduced to the table, as he proceeded to hit it multiple times, groaning as he did so. Then he sat up, cursing under his breath as he rubbed his forehead. Kaito only stared at him. "Does he...do this often?" She asked uncertainly. Leon shook his head, glaring darkly at the boy.

"Don't remind me." Roxas said glumly, slumping back in his seat. "All these girls – and some guys! -- are throwing themselves at me, and the teachers keep making reference to it... and, not to mention, my ex girlfriends are _helping_ throw the girls at me! They keep dropping hints I like the passes, and things that I like, or that they think I might like, and..._argh_! It's impossible! I don't know how I'm going to deal with this bet for the whole year, and the tone of the bet indicates I have to at least honestly search for girls!" He groaned, and whimpered slightly.

Kaito was silent. "I wasn't the only one who caught that? Hmmm. Maybe you aren't so bad." She muttered, frowning at him. Roxas opened his eyes – when had he closed them? -- and threw her a puzzled look. She shrugged. "I like to read between the lines. It indicated that... and it's just, normally, I'm the only one who catches them. Or Lo. But he prefers going for direct. Twisting and plotting is more my thing." She admitted, leaning back in her chair.

Roxas sat up, leaning forwards in interest. "Really? Most girls don't go for twisting and plotting... unless it's to get revenge on their ex." He added darkly, raising some chuckles from Axel. Kaito frowned, and shook her head. "I disagree. Plotting and twisting and all that fun stuff comes in more then one...I dunno; genre. Kind of like humor. At least, that's the way it seems to me. Do it one way, and it's revenge. Do it another way, and it's funny. It really is a lot of different things like that...I mean, if you think about it. Manage to wrap your mind around a little twisted logic." She added as an afterthought.

Roxas watched her steadily throughout the rest of their time, before Kaito took out her cell and flipped it open, frowning after a moment. She rose, placing it back in her pocket. "Sorry, but I've got to go. I hear homework calling... it doesn't sound pretty. Or much fun. But nonetheless, it's screaming, and I must bid you adieu. Tchao!" She walked hurriedly away. 

Leon leaned back in his chair, watching Roxas closely. "As I said. She's...different." Roxas nodded slowly, before smiling slowly. "And I do believe I've found my next girlfriend. Asexual, hmm... oh well. We can work that out." He tossed the thought from his head, confident in his abilities. Leon could only shake his head. "Roxas." Said blond looked up. "If you hurt her in any way, your corpse will be found in the back of a dark, dingy alley, and you'll only be identifiable from your dental records...if that." His voice was a cold tone he usually reserved for people who were seriously pissing him off, and Roxas was frozen to his seat, eyes wide.

Leon stood, making his way out of the mall; he had no reason to stay here. "Hey, wait!" He stopped and turned when Roxas called. "Why do you care so much?" It was half a challenge. Leon watched him, before finally saying quietly, "I've already had to rescue her before. I don't want to have to do it again. Besides..." He shruged, and turned, voice carrying back to them softly. "I owe her."

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**Author's Note: Wow... I really hate updating apparently, heh...sorry! Anywho; any mistakes are my own. I'm lazy and don't feel like going over this again just to clean it up...maybe I'll do it later... that, and, I've got homework and violin pactice I've been putting off...and seriously need to get it done. I've got, like, an hour before bed. So I've got to work hard; those AP classes are fun, sure, but the WORK! Eh, 'tis worth it! Chyah! ... Anywho, if anyone has any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them! And sorry the chapter is so short! D:**


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